Happy hump day! Here’s your freshly brewed music news:
Ozzy Osbourne has revealed the itinerary for the first North American leg of his solo farewell trek, dubbed “No More Tours 2.” The name is a reference to his 1992 “No More Tours” jaunt, which was meant at the time to be his goodbye to the road. The initial North American dates kick off on August 30th in Allentown, Pennsylvania and conclude October 13th in Las Vegas. Ozzy will be joined by Stone Sour for this leg of the tour. Tickets go on sale to the general public starting Saturday, February 17th at 10:00 a.m. local time at LiveNation.com. Check out all the dates on the Road Rage page.
Ozzy also has farewell dates scheduled in Mexico, South America, Russia and Europe.
The heavy metal legend said in a statement, “I’ve been extremely blessed to have had two successful music careers. I’m looking at this final tour as being a huge celebration for my fans and anyone who has enjoyed my music over the past five decades.”
Ozzy’s solo swansong is expected to last into 2020 and will mark his final bout of global touring, although he will still perform selected shows in the future. He and Black Sabbath bid farewell to their 50 years on the road exactly a year ago with two final concerts in their hometown of Birmingham, England.
Five Finger Death Punch will return to the road this spring for selected North American co-headlining dates with Shinedown, as well as stops at festivals like Carolina Rebellion and Welcome To Rockville. The bands are bringing along sci-fi rockers Starset as well as up-and-coming act Bad Wolves, who are currently climbing the rock charts with their cover of the Cranberries‘ “Zombie.”
Five Finger Death Punch and Shinedown last co-headlined together on a fall 2016 arena trek. Five Finger guitarist Zoltan Bathory told us that putting these two acts together was a no-brainer: “You put together bands that really have a big following, they’re strong on radio, you know, so there’s a radio support and we can actually sell out arenas. And thank God we are in a position that we can put these tours together and it’s a big success for everyone.”
The new shows will kick off on May 6th in Nashville, winding down on May 30th in Caspar, Wyoming. VIP pre-sales are already happening, while general public ticket sales start on Friday, February 9th at 10:00 a.m. local time, with Birmingham and Lexington dates going on sale a week later on February 16th. See all the dates on our Road Rage page!
Following a lengthy legal battle with its soon-to-be-former label, Prospect Park, Five Finger Death Punch released a greatest hits collection, A Decade Of Destruction, last December. The band’s seventh full-length LP will come out sometime this spring.
Shinedown recently completed recording its sixth studio effort for a tentative late spring/early summer release.
The motion carries! Alameda County, California has officially proclaimed February 10th to be “Cliff Burton Day” in honor of the late Metallica bassist, who would have turned 56 years old on that date had he lived. Metallica announced the news on Twitter, writing, “It’s official! The Board of Supervisors from Alameda County has just proclaimed February 10th, 2018, which would have been Cliff’s 56th birthday, ‘Cliff Burton Day.’ Thanks to all of the fans who got behind this initiative. We love that he remains so revered.”
The proclamation comes after Metallica fans started a Change.org petition to recognize Burton in his hometown of Castro Valley. Petition organizer Robert Souza asked the Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) to back his effort, and the Council voted 7-0 in favor of it. The issue then went to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, who voted for it on Tuesday, February 6th.
Burton was asked to join Metallica in 1982 after the band saw him perform with his group at the time, Trauma. Burton played on Metallica’s first three studio albums — Kill ‘Em All, Ride The Lightning and Master Of Puppets — and co-wrote classic songs like “Ride The Lightning,” “For Whom The Bell Tolls,” “Fade To Black,” “Creeping Death” and “Master Of Puppets.” His life was tragically cut short at the age of 24 in a tour bus crash on September 27th, 1986 in Sweden. Burton’s initial replacement in the group was Jason Newsted, who stayed in the lineup until 2001. Rob Trujillo joined in 2003 and remains in the band to this day.
More tour dates announced! Pop Evil will hit the road this spring on selected dates with classic rock legends Cheap Trick and ’80s hard rockers Poison. The trek kicks off on May 18th in Irvine, California, coming to a close on June 24th in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Pop Evil frontman Leigh Kakaty told us that playing for a wide variety of fans is the band’s ultimate goal: “We want to bring it live, obviously that’s where true fans are won over, so it’s important, getting our name out there as much as possible, playing in front of as many new people as possible, as many big tours, so it’s important for us to really put all the attention into our live show to make the live experience enjoyable for our fans.”
Kakaty said in a statement about the tour, “This summer is going to be an exciting one for Pop Evil, that’s for sure! What a fantastic opportunity to bring our live show across the country on the big stage with such legends like Poison and Cheap Trick.”
Tickets for various cities will go on sale starting Friday, February 9th and Saturday, February 10th. Each band is also offering its own exclusive VIP packages and meet-and-greet opportunities. Pop Evil will be touring in support of its upcoming self-titled fifth LP, which is due out on February 16th and follows up 2015’s Up.
Get your stream on! Tool/Mastodon spin-off Legend Of The Seagullmen‘s self-titled debut album is now available for streaming in its entirety. The disc will be released this Friday, February 9th. Legend Of The Seagullmen features Tool’s Danny Carey on drums and Mastodon’s Brent Hinds on guitar, along with director Jimmy Hayward on guitar, David “The Doctor” Dreyer on vocals and others. The LP will be available on vinyl, CD, and digitally. You really need to hear this, it is absolutely EPIC!
Smashing Pumpkins frontman William Corgan has poked fun at speculation over who will play bass for its reported reunion. With original bassist D’Arcy Wretzky allegedly not asked to return, Corgan teased, “According to some reports (based on photos taken or leaked) I am now a bassist. I mean, yes, I have played bass on many of your fave songs but I’m not sure I can play bass AND sing at the same time? But perhaps I can try *someday*.” Corgan also poked fun at reports that either James Iha or Jeff Schroeder would switch from guitar to bass on a new album and tour.
Ex-Guns N’ Roses drummer Steven Adler said that his “heart was so broken” after he was fired from the band that he just “wanted to die.” Adler, who was kicked out of the group in 1990 over his drug use, spoke about his dismissal on Mom, It’s Not Devil Music!, saying, “One day you’re on top of the world, and the next day you’re a nobody.”
Adler said that, ironically, he was thrown out of the group while trying to kick his heroin habit. He recalled, “I didn’t realize that if you’re doing heroin and then you stop doing it, you get violently sick . . . it aches so bad and you just wanna die.” He added, “Four days go by, and (Guns guitarist) Slash called and said, ‘Well, we’re going in the studio to record “Civil War.”‘ . . . So I go in at A&M Records to record, and I’m so weak and sick. And I did my best, but I had to play, like, 25 times. So they were getting frustrated. And I kept telling them, ‘I’m sick.’ And they kept saying, ‘No, you’re not. You’re just f**ked up.’ And I said, ‘I’m not f**ked up. I’m sick.’ And I got kicked out.”
Adler said that after he was fired, he “went from having a management, roadies, a band, agent, accountants — people all around me all the time — that I thought were my friends and had my back to literally, one day, I was all alone. I had nobody. I thought for sure I was gonna be one of those rock stars that, when they’re 27, they OD and die.”
After being fired, Adler resolved to clean himself up, but admitted, “My heart was so broken that I couldn’t even think about doing that. All I could think about was, ‘I just wanna die.’”
Adler published an autobiography in 2010, titled My Appetite for Destruction: Sex, And Drugs, And Guns N’ Roses, in which he delved into his depression, suicide attempts, drug-related heart attacks, and the debilitating stroke that left him with muscular paralysis and permanently slurred speech.
Although not part of the reunion that launched in 2016, Adler rejoined Guns N’ Roses at several shows on the band’s “Not In This Lifetime” tour, including three stops on the U.S. leg and one gig in Buenos Aires, Argentina, playing drums on “Out Ta Get Me” and “My Michelle.”
Finally, we want to wish a very Happy Birthday to Godsmack’s Sully Erna and Wes Borland of Limp Bizkit! Have a lovely day, all!
